EC: Czechs finished fifth after the win against Great Britain

Czech Republic played their last game at 2020 European Championship on Saturday. The duel against Great Britain was to decide who finished fifth.

Czechs started Boris Bokaj, for whom it was the second start at the championship. Their opponent went with Spencer Kreisberg, who also played on Tuesday against Israel. The mostly empty stands in Avigliano didn’t need to wait long to see the first runs scored. In the second inning, Czechs scored three runs after hits by Matěj Menšík and Martin Schneider.

Petr Čech started the bottom of the third inning with a solo homerun. After Jakub Malík‘s walk, Britons decided to substituted the pitcher. Austin Hassani came in for Kreisberg. The defense didn’t help Hassani, however, and Czechs were able to score the fifth run.

British bats found their voice in the fourth inning. After an RBI single from Christopher, and three run homerun from Andrews, the score difference was only one run. Fortunately, Matěj Hejma added two more runs in the bottom half of the inning with his fourth homerun of the tournament. This led to Hejma taking the first spot in the homerun leader board as well.

Aaron Singh batted in Crosby with a double in the fifth inning, decreasing the Czech lead to 7-5. Czech coaches thus decided to substitute their pitcher and sent in Tomáš Duffek, who remained in the game for an inning, after which Martin Schneider got a chance to record the save. His position was improved in the seventh inning, as Martin Mužík batted in eighth Czech run. Schneider only allowed one hit in three innings and so Czechs won 8-5.

After the loss in the quarter finals, Czech beat both of their remaining opponents and finished fifth at the tournament. This is also the sixth time, out of twelve appearances, that Czechs finished fifth at European Championship.

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